John

cultivate-for-illo-friday1 — The cat who loves books.

THE LAUNDROMAT

As the ceremony began, John felt a lump in his throat as he watched Gloria take her vows. She was radiant! Paul looked happy but very nervous, which was apparent from the perspiration shinning on his face. The lace and chiffon dress Gloria wore clung gently to her slim figure. For some reason she seemed very vulnerable to John. He noticed tears in Alice’s eyes and could hardly hold them back himself.

At the reception Alice introduced him to everyone as Gloria barely had time to kiss him on the cheek and greet her other guests. If it wasn’t for Alice, he would have been completely lost. When he was getting ready to leave Alice came up to him, clasped his hands and told him how happy she was that he came. She even suggested having lunch together at a future date. He didn’t know what to think of that, but he agreed.

A few weeks later John was just settling in to life without Gloria. Oh he’d probably see her now and again in passing but it would never be the same. The phone ringing startled him out of his musing. He picked it up and said, “Hi this is John, it’s your nickel.”

“Hi John, this is Alice, remember me?”

“Of course how are you doing Alice,” he tried to keep the surprise out of his voice.

“I’m fine John, I was just wondering if you would like to go to lunch next week?”

“Why um, well, I, that is yes that would be great!? Where would you like to go?”

“There’s a little Italian place not too far from where I live, called Giovanni’s. The food is great if you like Italian.”

“That sounds good Gloria, I love Italian, what day and time shall we meet up?”

They set the date for the next Wednesday about one o’clock, and they would meet at the restaurant. John was flushed with excitement over the thought of meeting Alice for lunch. He couldn’t fathom why he was so excited. ‘I must be getting old,’ he thought, ‘it’s only a lunch with Gloria’s Mother. I don’t even know if she has a husband or she is just trying to be friendly to a friend of her daughter.’

Still, Alice was an attractive woman and still young and she seemed to like him. When Wednesday rolled around, John was still trying to calm himself down. Alice was more his age he thought and that calmed him some. He told himself Alice either had a husband or a boyfriend. ‘Attractive woman like her wouldn’t be just out there. Would she? Here I go again’, he thought. I got all excited about Gloria and where did that get me?’ So as he was driving to the restaurant, he had himself under control and just said to himself that he would have a nice lunch and that was it.

Giovanni’s proved to be an ideal meeting place for Alice and John’s first date. It was very informal, with red and white checkered tablecloths and candles burning on each table. Even sawdust on the floor to make it more authentic. John ordered the best red wine they had and Alice was impressed. The food proved to be delicious and since they both were good eaters they ordered more than they enough food. So they each had doggie bags when they left. They had chatted about mundane things during lunch since they really didn’t know each other. And the afternoon passed pleasantly with no glitches by John due to nervousness. In fact they got along great and especially for a first date, if that was what this was, he thought. Alice invited John back to her house for coffee and dessert. And of course he accepted. He wasn’t ready for what happened next though.

To be continued.

MERLIN AND lady on favorite chair — My cats: Merlin and Lady!

THE LAUNDROMAT

The washers and dryers were humming noisily when John walked into the Laundromat. It was easy to see that he wasn’t accustomed to using a laundromat by the furtive way he was acting. He picked out a washer after much searching, loaded his clothes and then discovered that he did not have any detergent and had to search for the machine that dispensed it. Everyone in the place could have cared less whether he knew his way around or not, they were all wrapped up in their own thoughts. After a few trips there though he became a regular and knew his way around as well as everyone else.

It was on one of these trips as he was gaining confidence in himself that John had a strange thing happen. John always liked children and there was certainly enough of them running around. A little blonde girl of three years old came up to him smiling and started a conversation. “Hi, I’m Sandy,” she said. “Hello Sandy, my name is John, what do you do for a living?” Sandy just giggled and proceeded to tell him her age, her mother’s name and anything else he wanted to know.

John was beginning to enjoy himself when a blonde woman rushed up and grabbed Sandy, gave him a dirty look and rushed the child away. Her admonishment to the child could be heard throughout the laundromat, “I told you not to talk to strangers especially old men.” John was startled and a little sad. After hearing that, he wasn’t as friendly to children unless of course he knew their parents.

John was a tall man in his early sixties and his hair was mostly gray but he had a thick and lustrous head of it. He had green eyes that sparkled when he was happy which wasn’t very often now that Janet was gone. He had a slim build although he had a hearty appetite, but that had diminished lately. Since Janet had died a year ago, he was in a transition period. They had planned to vacation in the mountains this year. Renting a cabin and fishing was his idea of heaven, but Janet’s illness had come on suddenly and now his life was dramatically different.

He had thought himself a strong man but lately he began to doubt that strength. He had not planned on being alone and it was a strange, new experience for him. The house loomed before him like some vast unknown expanse. The days were endless. Then one day at the Laundromat, as he was loading his clothes into a dryer, a young woman next to him was struggling with a large basket of clothes as she tried to lift it onto one of the shelves. It slipped out of her hands and the clothes went flying onto the floor. The girl looked embarrassed as she stooped to retrieve her laundry. John went to her aid and after the clothes were picked up and placed in the right machine, she sat down beside him. He offered her a cigarette and after accepting she thanked him profusely for his help.

“I’m new in the area,” she said. “Is that so?” John was never much of a conversationalist.

She was so young and pretty, he was wondering why she even bothered talking to him.

“Can you tell me which market has the lowest prices close to this area? I’m kind of new in town and still have to get a car. So I am kind of limited in where I shop” She seemed to be embarrassed to admit this.

“Medina’s Market is only a few blocks from here and has the best buys and good quality, I can show you where it is.”

“Oh thanks, that’s very kind of you but I wouldn’t want to put you out.” she retorted.

“No trouble at all. After we are done here I’ll take you there. By the way what’s your name, mine’s John.”

“Gloria.” was the answer.

“That’s a pretty name, it suits you.”

To be continued